by #JohnNichols in #TheNation:

"The Fair College Admissions for Students Act, which [Jamaal] Bowman proposed with US Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in the 117th Congress, and which they plan to reintroduce in this Congress, focuses on a frequently neglected form of affirmative action that primarily benefits wealthy white people—and that the court has permitted to stand. Specifically, it would end colleges’ and universities’ practice of giving legacy admissions preferences to the children of alumni and donors. As Bowman and Merkley note, 'Legacy admissions can take up between 10 and 25 percent of available slots at top universities. Some estimates indicate that applying as a legacy student can double to quadruple one’s chances of getting into a highly selective university. In using legacy and donor status in admissions decisions, institutions give preference to students whose families attended or donated to the university, reducing the opportunities for the descendants of enslaved African Americans who built and maintained many of these institutions and other underrepresented students.'”

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/jamaal-bowman-affirmative-action/

#LegacyAdmissions #AffirmativeAction #HigherEducation #college #universities #JamaalBowman #JeffMerkley #SupremeCourt #SCOTUS

by #AlisonFTakemura in #CanaryMedia

"In May, senators Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) introduced the Pollinator Power Act. Its passage would direct the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to prioritize solar projects funded by the Rural Energy for America Program that create habitat for pollinators underneath the panels. Pollinators such as bees, butterflies and beetles are responsible for pollinating three-quarters of flowering plants and 35 percent of food crops, but populations are in striking decline, in major part because of habitat loss."

https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/agrivoltaics-finds-new-fans-in-us-senate

#PollinatorPowerAct #AgrivoltaicsResearchAndDemonstrationAct #agrivoltaics #pollinators #farmers #ecosystems #SolarPanels #photovoltaics #agriculture #JeffMerkley #CoryBooker #MartinHeinrich

@JuanWild 🥥 Do you mean Sen. #JeffMerkley (D-OR), Juan? THAT Jeff Merkley? 🥥

#Oregon #USSenator #JeffMerkley & Representative #JimmyPanetta (D-CA) have introduced 2023 #Monarch #Action #Recovery and #Conservation of #Habitat (MONARCH) #Act .

The bill introduced March 17 in the #USSenate will be introduced in the #HouseOfRepresentatives in the coming weeks. The #bicameral #MONARCHAct would help #prevent the #extinction of the western #MonarchButterfly & other #CriticallyImportant #pollinators
https://theworldlink.com/news/congressional-effort-legislation-to-protect-monarch-butterfly/article_ec7730c5-e076-5850-bd5d-27f1789d7f06.html

#biodiversity #WildFirst #ProtectTheWild #GoodNews

I just emailed President Biden, Senator #JeffMerkley of #Oregon, and Senator #RonWyden to do all they can to send #bolsinaro back to #Brazil with the greatest Alacrity
I encourage you all to do the same
This is what #democracy looks like

Massachusetts Senator Forwards Bill Aimed at Forcing Crypto Miners to Report Greenhouse Gas Emissions - On Dec. 8, 2022, three Democratic politicians from Massachusetts, Oregon, and Cali... - https://news.bitcoin.com/massachusetts-senator-forwards-bill-aimed-at-forcing-crypto-miners-to-report-greenhouse-gas-emissions/ #environmentalworkinggroup #bitcoinminingoperations #democraticpoliticians #jaredhuffman(d-ca) #jeffmerkley(d-ore) #senecalakeguardian #miningoperations #carbonemissions

Senate Bill Would Expand Facial-Recognition Restrictions Nationwide - The proposed law comes as police departments around the country for their use of facial recognitio... https://threatpost.com/senate-bill-expand-facial-recognition-restrictions-nationwide/158509/ #illinoisbiometricinformationprivacyact #nationalbiometricinformationprivacyact #facialrecognition #policedepartments #blacklivesmatter #berniesanders #biometricdata #jeffmerkley #government #protesters #faceprint #privacy #bill